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GovCampNSW on 19th November, 2011 in Sydney

Open government; resilient state: Innovating for government in NSW

If you work for government – or with government – whether federal, state or local, this one-day forum is for you.
 
GovCamp for you

This GovCamp “unconference” is simply a space to open up the public sphere conversation - to create a comfortable place where new thinking becomes possible and enables new outcomes.  There are no long presentations and the topics are yours - you get to create the agenda.

So this GovCamp is about how government works, as well as how it works for citizens.  It's about the pressures of needing to do better government with less; about meeting growing public needs and expectations within an increasingly transparent and stretched public space.

It's also about leverage points for innovation in NSW, such as connective technologies and open data.  We hope to hear some big-picture policy ideas and some pragmatic new-ways-of-working.

GovCampNSW is about the power of ideas and conversation. It aspires to build upon the gov-tech / 2.0 focus and look beyond to shaping innovation in government in NSW.

Discussion will include:

  • Cultural change leading to open government.
  • Social technologies and service delivery.
  • Policy 2.0: Why do apps have all the fun? 

For more info on the program and format OR to suggest topics you'd be interested in discussing on the day, please visit the GovCampNSW website at www.govcampnsw.info.

GovCamp is for people like you

Public sector practitioners, advisers and leaders who are excited by these challenges, who seek to better understand the risks and opportunities within emerging trends. 

There are no clever corporate games; just dialogue and an open exchange of ideas.  It's a Saturday. It's free time, casual and as "off-the-record" as you need.  And because it's shared conversation, you'll take away even more than you contribute.

 

 

via govcampnsw.eventbrite.com

For my part, a recurring Gov 2.0 theme for me is social innovation and the role of the non-profit sector in service delivery. So I hope to see a good mix of government people, agitators for change (like me), engaged citizens and also the non-profit sector at this first GovCamp for NSW.

BTW I'll be helping out, co-facilitating the conversation cafe and maybe a presentation.

SI Camp - a tool for social entrepreneurship

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This weekend I'll be attending the first Australian Social Innovation Camp. On Saturday and Sunday, I'll be playing the role of a roving 'mentor', moving between the teams offering feedback, encouragement and advice where I can.

I also plan to do a lot of observing and listening, because I want to better understand the perceptions and expectations of participants of how they see the ideas from this weekend evolving into sustainable initiatives, that have a real social impact.

To give you some context - I've heard and read about Cheryl Kernot commenting on the state of social innovation in Australia on a number of occasions and I tend to agree with her that it is time to introduce a stronger vein of social entrepreneurship. While I've seen plenty of passion and goodwill in the SI Camp community for social good, I'm not quite sure we yet have enough entrepreneurship in the equation. This is broader issue than SI Camp itself and Kernot is quoted in this summary of a presentation at a recent mental health forum as saying (or words to the effect) that:

the social landscape is seeing huge social change away from reliance on charity and grants- much more about creative income generation. We need to let go of non-profit and profit distinction but how can we harness profits that put back into the social community, there needs to be a reassessment of “Not for Profit” terminology.

For me, the exciting thing about SI Camp is about using it as a tool for social entrepreneurship (and one that make use of the inherent attributes and capabilities of Web 2.0 technologies in a number of ways), rather than simply as an event where these ideas just become an expression of the good will that exists in the Web 2.0 community. A subtle, but important difference.

Photo Credit: From the Dignity in Care: Enabled by the Web (Set) CC-BY